This invention pertains to a method and apparatus for preventing mud slides resulting from excess water accumulation in soil. More specifically, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for evaporating water accumulations by applying heat to the soil using a plurality of heating units arranged in a predetermined pattern.
Mud slides and/or soil displacements resulting from moisture accumulation are long outstanding problems. They cause considerable property damage and pose life-threatening hazards to many communities. Present day solutions to prevent mud slides include the use of dikes or barriers to reroute water flow during heavy rain or other precipitation, or simply covering substantial areas of soil with a plastic sheathe to prevent water accumulation therein. Also, various drains and drain paths have been constructed to remove water from the topsoil as it accumulates, but drain constructions are expensive, and often ineffective as the soil frequently absorbs precipitation before it runs off or drains.
Excess water accumulations can conveniently be evaporated by ground heaters inserted in the soil. Ground heaters, however, are known in the art, but, to my knowledge, such heaters have never been used for the purpose of preventing mud slides, nor have they been controlled in the fashion which I disclose herein to provide for their efficient utilization. U.S. Pat. No. 2,235,695 to Ackley shows use of an electrical ground heater for solidifying "quicksand" by evaporating water contained therein prior to injecting a bonding agent therein to stabilize the same. This method is used in the construction industry to stabilize the soil prior to building upon it. U.S. Pat. No. 944,382 to Ross also shows use of an electrical ground heater for insertion into the soil to unthaw or prevent freezing of the same, that is, to loosen the soil, a purpose just the opposite of my invention. I am not aware of any prior art which teaches or suggests the use of ground heaters to stabilize soil for the prevention of mud slides.
It, accordingly, is an objective of the present invention to provide an economical and convenient method and apparatus for attaining and maintaining stabilized soil during periods of precipitation, thereby to protect valuable property including buildings and land, and to reduce life-threatening hazards of risk of mud slides.
It is another objective of the present invention to prevent mud slides and soil displacement due to an excess accumulation of precipitation.
It is a further objective of the present invention to solidify unstable soil that is subject to yielding under static and/or dynamic loads.
It is yet a further objective of the present invention to provide a stable barrier of dry solid earth in an area of unstable compliant soil, thereby to retain compliant soil in a stationary manner so as to prevent movement thereof.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide an economical system for evaporating moisture and/or water accumulation in soil without the necessity to expend substantial labor or costly methods each time a period of precipitation ensues.